Programs › 47.078
Assistance listing · 47.078
Polar Programs
Federal financial assistance obligated under listing 47.078, the organisations that receive it and where it goes.
USAspending caveat. Figures are obligations reported by federal agencies to USAspending.gov, not payments. In USAspending's words: "An outlay occurs when federal money is actually paid out, not just promised to be paid ('obligated')." "Every agency has a Senior Accountable Official who must officially certify that the quarterly financial data submitted by their agency is accurate and complete." "If there are any discrepancies in procurement data, FPDS is the authoritative source." Contract data for the Department of Defense and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is published with a 90-day delay. Data loaded 30 Sep 2026.
Federal agencies obligated $61M in awards under assistance listing 47.078, Polar Programs, in FY2026, and $398M over the five fiscal years since FY2023; the program ranks 437 of 988 on this site.
Obligations were down 47% on FY2025 ($114M), with $0 so far in FY2027.
The largest recipient organisations by the value of $1.0M-plus awards since FY2023 were University of California San Diego ($11M), The Regents of the University of Colorado ($11M) and Trustees of Dartmouth College ($7.7M).
By place of performance, the most money went to AK.
Obligations by fiscal year
Compared with the largest program FY2026
| Measure | This program | Grants to States for Medicaid | All assistance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obligations, FY2026 | $61M | $722B | $4.4T |
| Five-year total | $398M | $2.6T | $17T |
| Share of all assistance obligations, five years | 0% | 15.2% | 100% |
Largest recipients $1.0M+ award value since FY2023
| # | Organisation | Awards | Award value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of California San Diego | 2 | $11M |
| 2 | The Regents of the University of Colorado | 5 | $11M |
| 3 | Trustees of Dartmouth College | 1 | $7.7M |
| 4 | University of Texas at Austin | 3 | $7.5M |
| 5 | Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution | 2 | $5.8M |
| 6 | Rutgers, the State University | 1 | $4.8M |
| 7 | Regents of the University of Minnesota | 1 | $4.2M |
| 8 | Oregon State University | 2 | $3.9M |
| 9 | The University of Chicago | 1 | $3.8M |
| 10 | University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science | 1 | $2.6M |
| 11 | University of Alaska Fairbanks | 2 | $2.3M |
| 12 | Colorado State University | 1 | $2.2M |
| 13 | New Jersey Institute of Technology | 1 | $2.2M |
| 14 | The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York | 1 | $2.2M |
| 15 | University of Wisconsin System | 1 | $2.2M |
Awarding agencies $1.0M+ awards
Where the money goes
Largest awards since FY2023
Other programs numbered 47.xxx
- 47.049 Mathematical and Physical Sciences $6.2B
- 47.076 STEM Education (formerly Education and Human Resources) $4.9B
- 47.070 Computer and Information Science and Engineering $4.0B
- 47.050 Geosciences $3.8B
- 47.074 Biological Sciences $3.0B
- 47.041 Engineering $2.7B
- 47.084 Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships $2.7B
- 47.083 Integrative Activities $1.8B
- 47.075 Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences $701M
- 47.079 International Science and Engineering $254M
Questions and answers
How much is obligated under assistance listing 47.078?
$61M in FY2026 and $398M over the five fiscal years since FY2023, counting every award type recorded under the listing (grants, direct payments, loan subsidy cost, insurance and other assistance). Obligations are commitments, not payments.
Who receives the most under Polar Programs?
University of California San Diego ($11M), The Regents of the University of Colorado ($11M), Trustees of Dartmouth College ($7.7M), University of Texas at Austin ($7.5M), Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution ($5.8M). Individuals are never listed; where a program pays individuals, USAspending records aggregated rows that appear here as "not shown".
What is an assistance listing (CFDA) number?
A five-digit number that identifies a federal financial assistance program on SAM.gov (formerly the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance). Every grant, loan, direct payment or other assistance award on USAspending carries one; contracts do not.
Provenance
Source: USAspending.gov API v2, spending by category (assistance listing) by fiscal year, recipient cross-tabulation for FY2022–FY2025 and award search, loaded 30 Sep 2026. State figures come from each state's top-100 listing table, so small amounts in a state may be missing. See methodology.